A great competition experience

I have actively been submitting images for competition at different professional associations and these are some of the images that got a degree of recognition.

This image won a Merit of Excellence at the 1st Annual Photography Seminar in Mazatlan, Mexico sponsored by SMFP, Mexican association of profesional photographers.

These two images also participated in Mazatlan and where short 1 point from getting a merit, sooooo close! This is the album of a favorite wedding of mine, Thessa and Robert. I presented this album and the following images at the annual APPI convetion in Lisle Illinois. They all got awarded in the excellence category.

Amy and Jack, The Metropolis Ballroom, Arlington Heights

Amy and Jack's wedding was the last wedding of my 2009 season. Being an October wedding, my favorite time of the year, we hoped for a nice sunny day and we got instead a cloudy and rainy day. That didn't stop me from taking advantage of the good disposition of Amy and Jack to take them to the cold and wet environment of downtown Arlinton Heights to take some beautiful images. I love to shoot at the Metropolis ballroom, it's one of a kind hall on the second floor where the ceremony took place in the ballroom and while cocktails were being served, the staff rearranged the room as a banquet hall. The day went superb and I trully enjoyed all the 80's music that Amy and Jack personally picked for their party, they truly brouhgt the house down!
Thank you guys for your patience and dedication to your photography, I'll see you soon to see the rest of your images.

CanCun 2009

I recently spent a week in Cancun, Mexico with my brother's family. I refuse to be a photographer that photographs everybody's families except hers so, I dragged all my equipment to Cancun and on a beautiful day at sunset, we went to the beach and did a photo session. My brother returned the favor and photographed me and my better half the next morning under blasting sun, but you can't tell by the photos! Anyway, I will be going to Mexican beaches to do seminars and destination weddings and I will be offering photo sessions for whoever wants to have a beautiful portrait at the beach. I call them "OCEAN PORTRAITS". The following dates are confirmed for Ocean Portraits: October 10-12 in Mazatlan, Mexico and December 27-30 also in Mazatlan, Mexico. I will be in Cancun in January 2010 but dates are still to be confirmed. To inquire about OCEAN PORTRAITS and to make reservations, contact me via email or phone at photographer@argentinaleyva.com, 630-667-4633

Stefanie and Brandon, Marriot Resort, Oak Brook IL

It's the end of the wedding season for me and I closed my season with the beautiful wedding of Stefanie and Brandon. From the very beginning, it was a farie tale wedding that will be close to my heart for the longest. It was so emotional that I cried in several occasions with the family, I could have not asked for more! Stefanie and Brandon, I just want to keep photographing you for the rest of my life! Check my Facebook for a mini video with more images.

Thessa and Robert, Patrick Haley Mansion, Joliet

Thessa and Robert are a beautiful couple that I had the honor to photograph on their wedding day. It was a beautiful (and Hot!) June morning at the amazing Patrick Haley Mansion in Joliet, IL. After the wedding, we headed to downtown Chicago to do their portrait session and we had absolutely amazing images. We finished at their hotel, the Hyatt at the Magnificent mile before they went on their honeymoon. Thessa and Robert, I can only say, thank you so much for allocating so much time for your photos, I was really able to display all my artistic passion working with you, I plan to submit your wedding album to competition, so, thank you!

Crystal and Jelani, Chicago

I always have fun at weddings, but Crystal and Jelani's wedding was particularly a pleasure to photograph. They chose an intimate ceremony at city hall with their families, then headed to the Trump hotel to to change into their chic wedding clothes, the view from their suite was breathtaking. We spent almost two hours walking along the river and the magnificent mile hitting great locations for some amazing shots that wouldn't have been possible without the allocated time. Thank you Crystal and Jelani for caring so much about your photography, you are stunning!

Linda and Pierre, EnVent, Chicago

I had the priviledge of photographying the wedding of Linda and Pierre, an amazing couple with great taste and original ideas. They had a beautiful ceremony and reception at an amazing venue, EnVent, if you've never heard of it, check out their website, it's the perfect space with a lot of opportunities to get creative decorating this space, if you're having a winter wedding, you should realy look at this space. Linda and Pierre decided to have their photo session the next day and we spent about 2 hours creating amazing images in Chicago downtown, I enjoyed this day so much because I had another wedding in downtown the same day after their session, duble the fun! Thank you Linda and Pierre for loving your photography so much and, I felt realy privileged to work with you!

Kim and Dave

I opened my wedding season photographying the wedding of a really cool couple, Kim and Dave. We headed to Itasca downtown after the ceremony to take photos, the limo driver assumed I would be taking the photos at the local park (on my worse day would I stop at a park!) and decided to have some initiative on his own and drop the bridal party at the park where all the kids going to prom were taking pictures! Dave came to the rescue when I finally cought up with them and hussled everybody back into the limo and we headed to the train tracks and the entrance of a golf course that had a lovely creek and the sun set was really providing some amazing lighting. We lost precious time with the driver's good intentions and I had to really push everybody to get the amazing shots that really showed off the bride's maids' amazing blue dresses.
Thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to capture your day, I had a lot of fun and look forward delivering you wedding album! See a video in my You Tube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvjG7qhd5jQ

3 out of 4 International Merits of Excellence!

Dear friends, these are the three images out four that competed in Monterrey, Mexico on April 20th in the annual SMFP convention (Mexican Society of Professional Photographers). I want to mention that all three images caused long debates among the judges. I've never seen so many judges get up from their seat to take a close look at the images, I was a nervous reck! It was a long day waiting for my images to come up but it was worth the wait. By the end of the convention, all the members of the board of directors knew who I was and since then have sent me emails inviting me to participate as a speaker in other conventions! Well, may be in the future, I need to get my Master's degree first! I want to thank Samantha, Gina, Thessa and Robert for allowing me to guide them in the creation of the winning images, I'm a winner thanks to them!

"Samantha"

"Gina"

"Thessa and Robert"

The Omni, The Bride Society and Me!

I recently joined talents with the girls from TheBrideSociety.com to do a fashion photoshoot at the Omni Hotel Downtown Chicago. The models were former brides of mine, the Bride Society girls and the Omni's own recently wed management team. Claudia, the catering manager provided us with a suite to spend the night so we could do a photoshoot late Saturday night after all the customers were gone from the restaurant and bar area, Marianthy, my former bride was the model. The next day, the other two girls, Gina and Jeniffer, arrived early and we spent several hours changing looks and accesories to create different images. These images will be used for the Omni's marketing campaing and the Bride society's own editorial. To all future brides, I highly recoment the Omni for your wedding reception, it has two wonderful ballrooms, a striking view of Michigan avenue and of course, you're right there at the Magnificent mile for tons of photo oportunities and your guests shopping indulgence!. The food at 676 is outstanding, try the Sunday brunch, the omelettes are to die for!